ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. land — a country
  5. spring — the season
  6. race — humankind
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — a contest
  9. land — ground
  10. current — electric
  11. mate — to breed
  12. current — happening now
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mate — a friend
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. land — to come down
  20. spring — a coil
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — a partner

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com